NJ - This will be the strangest, most special Jersey Shore summer ever | Opinion

Most boardwalks and beaches are open now, and, maybe, eventually we’ll hear the screams of kids on the tilt-a-whirl and seductive pitches of wheel-of-chance operators; see the grease-glistening slices of pizza and powdered-sugared funnel cakes, smell cheesesteaks on the grill and the sweet/sour tang of suntan lotion.

The Shore is a welcome assault on all the senses.

There will be smiles on the faces of contented parents, teens and kids because they, we, all realize what the Shore represents and means. An escape from the 9-5, a release from daily toil and trouble, for rich folks and poor, for young and old, for people of every ethnicity.

There’s no place more democratic than a Jersey beach.

This weekend, the unofficial start of summer, begins our great internal migration down the Parkway. Call us lemmings; we can’t avoid it. The Jersey Shore is a vital part of our tradition, culture, identity; it’s our most treasured asset, it’s in our collective DNA. Still, nobody knows how this summer will play out; many restaurants, shops and other businesses remain closed, and there is no timetable yet for them to open.

No matter that the restrictions forced by coronavirus will make this the strangest summer ever at the Shore.